Naperville North routs Glenbard East

Huskies move to 3-0 in impressive fashion

LOMBARD — He knew what he was missing.

Naperville North senior Kyle Lackner watched the Huskies’ first two blowout victories of the season from the sideline but returned to the field just in time to experience their third monster win.

Lackner, a senior linebacker/defensive end who was suspended for the first two games, wasted no time making an impact in the team’s DuPage Valley Conference opener at Glenbard East on Friday.

“It’s great to be back,” said Lackner, whose team-best eight tackles and three tackles for loss paced the Huskies to a 47-6 win. “We played great as a team, the whole defense. We wanted that shutout. It happened on special teams, but the defense did great. We all did great. I’m happy to be back with all the guys.”

The Huskies (3-0) had recorded seven straight scoreless quarters, dating back to last week’s 49-0 win over Oswego East, before Glenbard East blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone for a score during the fourth quarter.

Leading 40-6, junior Patrick Waite answered the Rams by returning the ensuing kickoff 92 yards to cap the scoring.

The Huskies have scored 40-plus points in all three games this season, averaging 45.7 per game on offense while allowing only 6.7 on defense.

“We’re playing really, really well right now, but the DVC season’s going to start to kick in,” said North senior Tom Costantino, who scored two touchdowns against the Rams. “We’ve got to keep on coming out, practicing every week pretty hard.”

Costantino led the team with 196 all-purpose yards, which included 122 via receiving. Junior Nick Mlady led the Huskies with 155 yards rushing on nine carries (17.2 average) and two touchdowns.

Mlady set the tone for the game by rushing the first play from scrimmage – a power sweep left – 57 yards for the score.

“They just made their blocks, and everything just went from there,” Mlady said. “That’s our bread-and-butter play.”

The Huskies defense followed suit on the next two Rams possessions, stopping them twice on fourth down inside Huskies territory. Seniors Paul Freier and Jason Dangles made the first big defensive stop.

North quarterback Jordan Tassio started slowly, throwing an interception and losing a fumble on an exchange from center, but he recovered to throw for 166 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for a score.

The Huskies return home Friday to face West Chicago (1-2, 0-1 DVC), which has suffered two straight shutouts.

Contact Brad Engel at bengel@scn1.com or 630-416-5289.